CHAPTER 21: Mason

I watched as Ken sat down in the seat across the desk, making himself comfortable. “So, why did you call me here? I suspect that it was more than just lunch.”

“Yes. It is,” I said as I looked towards the window. I thought back to the years that Ken had supported me in pursuing a career in publishing. He’d seen my sacrifices over the years and I smiled. “I am dating someone, Uncle Ken,”

The surprise registered on his face as he grinned. Ken knew better than most how I felt after my brother’s betrayal. “That’s great, Mason. When do I get to meet her? Is she meeting us for lunch?”

“That can be arranged easily. You’ve already met her today,” I told him as he frowned thoughtfully. He gave me a sharp look and then looked at my door.

“The new assistant?” His voice was soft as he raised an eyebrow at me. “Mason, we have rules here for a reason.”

“Rules that I’ve never considered breaking. Hell, Ken, I’ve fired assistants for breaking them. I know the rules just fine,” I told him as he gazed back at me. “We fought this, though not for long. I met her by accident before I knew that she worked here and something just… sparked.” I trailed off as I remembered the first time I saw Isabelle’s eyes. Even now, it sparks electricity through me.

“I can tell by that face. I’ve never seen it over a woman, including your ex. Isabelle, was it?” He asked gently as I nodded. “Is it a problem that you work together so far? It hasn’t been that long… a few months?” Surprise registered on his face as I nodded again.

“I met her the first day before we were here together. I was already interested.” I reminded him as Ken ran a hand through his hair. “We are an excellent team. She’s fast and thorough and we’ve already gotten a few projects done together.”

“She’s a pretty girl, Mason. I’ll give you that.” Ken told me as he leaned back. “Tell me about her.”

“She has a six-year-old daughter. She’s alone and had her parents help. I met them last weekend,” I told him as Ken shook his head.

“Jesus, Mason.”

“It worked out for me to go to the same area to see Colby. I never made it to his place and spent the weekend with her family.” Ken dropped his face into his hands. “I sound crazy. I know that but this feels right. I’ll bring her to lunch and you can meet her.”

“Does the staff know?” He asked, and I paused before I told him that I thought so. I didn’t talk to many people other than to greet them and say good night. This place was a job to me and not a place to make friends. I had plenty of those to hang out with after work though it had been a while.

“We don’t display it. I have heard talk though.” I admitted as he let out a sigh.

“It’s already known that you’re my nephew. I don’t want people to think that you get to live life differently due to that fact.” His voice was stern, and I looked at him for a moment.

“I have worked here since college, Ken. I have worked hard and not gotten involved with anyone here. In fact, I’ve made an example of people sacrificing their work for it.” I saw him nod and give me a long look. “This is bigger than this place. I can’t explain it.”

“It was like that with your aunt. You don’t have to.” Ken shook his head. “The kid? Is that going to be a problem?”

“She’s great. We are not forcing anything on her and she’s taking quite well to me.” I grinned. “I have a way with the ladies.”

“Okay. We need lunch.” Ken looked at me. “Bring her along.”

I sent Isabelle a text that she was welcome to join us for lunch. She sent back a worried face, and I assured her that everything was fine. We stood and prepared to leave as Ken asked about some new authors that we’d signed on. I explained who I thought was going to be a best seller compared to the others, something that we were well-known for. We left the office together, and I watched as Hannah greeted Ken with a smile, looking past her to see the nervous smile on Isabelle’s face.

“It’s good to see you, Hannah. Are you keeping everyone in line here?” Ken joked with her as he walked towards the desk.

“You know it.” Ken smiled at Isabelle. “How does Italian sound?”

“Great,” she squeaked as she grabbed her purse. The three of us left, and I felt their curious eyes as we got on the elevator and stood beside Isabelle.

“Mason told me about you two,” Ken said as she blushed and I reached for her hand.

“I’m-”

“I assured him that this was professional and that we are both here to better the company during work hours.” I assured her, squeezing her gently.

“Oh. Okay.” Isabelle looked at me with large eyes and Ken watched us for a moment. We headed out to the street and walked the two blocks to the restaurant as Ken asked Isabelle about herself. She told him that she was originally from San Diego and graduated from college there before accepting this wonderful job. Ken beamed and opened the worn, wooden door for us we he pressed her about her daughter. “Kendra. She’s great.” Isabelle smiled warmly as I watched her closely, stopping at the hostess booth.

We were seated and ordered water before Ken handed us both menus. “My treat. My nephew tells me that you’re doing a great job.”

Isabelle looked at me, seated beside her. There was a curiosity in her gaze and I nodded. “I told him that you’re the best assistant I’ve ever had. She’s already read through and edited three books in the short time that she’s been here. Her notes were spot on.”

“Great. That’s what we need. So many self-published authors are looking to switch things up and I want them to come to us. I think we have an excellent promotional staff and fresh ideas.” Ken spoke so enthusiastically about the company that he took people off guard sometimes. “Are you a writer?”

“I majored in English lit. The best part about college was writing the papers for me.” Isabelle admitted as she shrugged. “I suppose that I’ve dabbled here and there. Reading some of these authors is both inspiring and intimidating, all in one breath.”

“There are a lot of them but I think they all have something unique to offer. Every story is just a little different. Should you ever choose to pursue it, you’ll have the best support you could.”

We ordered and Ken chatted with Isabelle, slowly making her feel comfortable as she laughed and talked through the meal. We stretched it out a bit longer than the standard lunch but that was how it went with Ken. He excused the time since much of the talk was about publishing and the company, signing the check as he glanced at his watch. “I guess you two should head back. Will you be at dinner on Sunday?” Ken asked me as I nodded, taking a final sip of the cold water. “I’d like to see you there, Isabelle. You can meet the family.”

I saw the panic in her eyes as we started back to the building as Ken took a phone call from his wife. I loved Aunt Kathy, and they had always inspired me as a couple. “Dinner with your family?” She asked in a hiss as I chuckled.

“I’ll bet that you thought it would be a train wreck with your family. Didn’t you?” She gave me a guilty look. “My family will love you as much as Ken did and who couldn’t like Kendra?”

“We were going to take this slow with her. I’m not sure if meeting your family is exactly that,” Isabelle spoke carefully as she looked forward.

“We are, in my opinion. We spend a lot of time together and I spend the night sometimes. Kendra loves that. You know it as well as I do. My family is just a family having dinner and she’ll enjoy herself.” I had to reassure Isabelle that everything was going fine from time-to-time and she took a deep breath. “Baby, it’s okay.”

“It is. I’m sorry.” All of this caught her off guard sometimes and I needed to calm her racing thoughts. “It would be good for Kendra to meet more people. Are there any kids in your family?”

“Ken has three, one of whom is just slightly older than Kendra. I think they’ll get along great.” I smiled as she tilted her head and grinned.

“Fine. You win.” We walked into the building and I made a point of putting some space between us as we made our way to our nook. I asked her to come into my office where I pressed her against the door and kissed her hungrily. “Mmmm. I missed this.”

“It’s been since last night,” I told her as she pulled me down for another kiss. I’d stayed there with her and we made it a late night making love until we couldn’t move anymore. I think we were both dragging this morning but after a few cups of coffee and the shock of meeting my uncle, Isabelle seemed like she was perking up. “Want to take Kendra to that pizza place with the games? I am craving some skee ball.”

Isabelle laughed as she gave up on the kiss. “It’s a school night. How about over the weekend?”

“Fine,” I pouted before we pressed together for a long, slow kiss. She fixed herself up and headed back to her desk as I smiled and thought about how many times I’d wanted to tell her that I love her. It seemed too soon, but we were just that way and I smiled as I walked to my desk.